i think. we will continue to use all of our diplomatic and economic tools to support introversion quite how. the us cuts venezuelan financial lifeline slumping crippling sanctions on the country's state oil company in a bid said to boost the country's self declared interim leader and oust president maduro. human rights watch says rebel groups affiliated with al qaeda

have been portraying civilians in syria who have documented eleven cases in which. residents of six of those that we have documented have apparently been tortured including minors. blurring the lines between the state and religion defenders of america's first amendment and second the activists are up in arms over plans of bible classes in the u.s. school. we want our schools to teach we don't want them to preach people just want to be left alone for school wants to have a bible class let me have a bible but i don't know why so many people are afraid of a book. very well can you watching r t international with me carrying. the united states has announced sweeping sanctions against venezuela targeting the state owned oil company the movie names to boost opposition leader one who declared himself

venezuela's interim president last week and oust nicolas maturer. we will continue to use all of our diplomatic and economic tools to support interim president quite oh the national assembly and the venezuelans people efforts to restore their democracy but we have continued to expose the corruption of madeira and his cronies and today's action ensures they can no longer loot the assets of the venezuelan people legally only that they don't give us any knowledge of how. venice. asks venice and. the economic measures against majeure a target the country's k. source of revenue immediately freezing seven billion dollars in assets american firms won't be able to do business with caracas all the money will go into blocks

accounts these sanctions will also cost venezuela eleven billion dollars in lost oil exports this year during the announcement the us national security advisers notepad was facing reporters exposing a handwritten message that read five thousand troops to colombia some suggested that is may be an unlucky slip while others said it was intentional washington responded saying that all options are still on the table caleb maupin looks at the tane taking aim at that as well. at the united nations and like pompei o drew a line in the sand now it's time for every other nation to pick a side no more delays no more games either you stand with the forces of freedom or you're in league with material and his may sound familiar either you're with us. if you love freedom and with nations which embrace freedom or you are the enemy yes their ideas are not new but now they're linking arms in the global spotlight some call them the axis of evil or the troika of tyranny meet mike pompei oh elliott

abrams and john bolton the three amigos of imperialism john bolton was a big supporter of the iraq war and he represented the united states in the united nations an organization he really didn't care for very much united states make the u.n. work work and that is exactly the way you should be because the. united states is much scenary like bomb peo is the new kid on the block without very much experience as head of the cia he tried to get the authority to conduct drone strikes in afghanistan without the pentagon's oversight and he worked day and night to rip up the iran nuclear deal at the center of it is not interested in a campaign of economic pressure to starve the regime of the revenue it uses to fund the stabilization of these throughout the middle east and indeed around the world now back in the spotlight after years of obscurity meet convicted criminal elliott

abrams he was tied to massacres in el salvador any help to funnel weapons to the contras in nicaragua he was convicted for his role in covering it all up and he received a presidential pardon now he's a special envoy for venezuela it seems that his record in latin america has really impressed certain people america's new dream team is now taking aim at venezuela why because they just care so much for those poor oh pressed venezuelans they want them to have a chance at freedom and democracy right or is it something else will make a big difference to the united states economically if we could have american oil companies really invest in and produce the oil capabilities in venezuela be good for the people of venezuela be good for the people of the united states we both have a lot of stake here yes honesty is always appreciated kaleb up and r.t. new york. well we asked people in venezuela the u.s. and britain what they thought about the new sanctions. and we need help from stable

countries and the us is a stable country you're not i do not recognize one wide always the interim president and the government of the us must respect the position of us and as a whelan's who have elected president my new room where fair elections. he in well yes and no but there is some sense to it personally i'd say they should into the know it is venezuela it should solve the problems of venezuela. it. seems to be a typical us move to go for any nation that has been a model oil venezuela is a country that's been around for a long time and they should solve their own problems. sometimes need to go out and just help them any more snow all over again and something else about how many of us could go out there and help. for democracy to do some research before any idea

where is on the map i have no clue how to venezuela no president. for the current president as he is. i wish i do is know the ukraine is back to calls for a new election in the country i just want to do a few sort of agree that that would be the best way forward for over this way that's what it is up to what they want isn't it not what i want. a chilling report by human rights watch says hired her sharma an armed group with links to al qaeda has detained and tortured civilians in syria the organization has also released the testimonies of several victims you might find some of them upsetting. they used to pull me out of the cell beat me and then return me no one asked me

a single question no one asked me what my name was. these torture moments i remember them in detail every day people died in front of my eyes the maximum you can do is move your shoulders a bit and scream for help but on several occasions they stuffed things in my mouth so i couldn't scream. they beat me they would place me absolutely down for hours beat me and interrogate me it became tougher physically and emotionally. the new york based rights organization claims the tensions and arrests were triggered by protests against the militant group because starr reports when syria's most ruthless battle hardened terrorist elements fled the advances of the country's military taking refuge in the

province the u.s. and cole went overboard overboard about our side and russia would turn the lives of ordinary citizens there into a living hell to get to a handful of al-qaeda fighters when russia and the assad regime say they want to counterterrorism they actually mean they want to bomb schools hospitals and homes there are more babies in italy than there are terrorists think of the children they say well now it turns out terrorists remain terrorists wherever they go and the children and adults of a global like are learning this the hard way this month. a un designated terrorist alliance so. gaited the other rebel factions and seized power across the province any attempt of dissent big crush in its cradle the new human rights watch report details just some cases we have documented eleven cases in which. between residents

of. because they were either documenting abuses or were testing the six of the older we have documented have apparently been tortured you can minors human rights watch isn't the first organization to produce such a report either as well as arbitrary detention and brutal beatings thieving looting and corruption are rampant clashes and infighting are also adding to the anguish of civilians violence repeatedly spills beyond the borders of the province to just last week at least four hundred militants attacked a government forces in danger the tentative ceasefire brokered by russia and turkey it's an undeniable fact that liberal means a terrorist haven while we are still committed to the ceasefire deal the recent takeover by tyra goes beyond the scope of the agreement the russian and turkish militaries are working on a road map to deal with the threats but it's clear we cannot let it remain

a terrorist hop but it's so wolf the mainstream media have been portraying it as syria as the final safe haven of the last major rebel held hotspot the last rebel holdout the last major stronghold of active opposition to the rule of president bashar al assad all those praying to survive to see another day there are unlikely to agree. now as part of a drive to empower women in the united arab emirates an award ceremony was held on sunday to recognize the government department during the most to address gender imbalance but the many one thing just didn't sit quite right all three was the appearance of the awards which were presented by the us vice president and the ruler of dubai where men of that led to an outpouring of ridicule on social media. i'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you that you forgot to invite women wow you really nailed the diversity there one of those great you've achieved an excellent

balance of men with. the men with. graduate. one gender and by. well the worries prime minister stressed in his statement that women there play a central role in shaping the country's future he also says that getting more women into positions of power is a priority for the government but despite that women's rights are still severely restricted in the country for instance women require the permission of a male guardian to get married and they also cannot get a job without their husbands consent and divorce is rarely granted we spoke to political analyst catherine shank down about the award ceremony she told is that it's easy to pay lip service to equality but concrete steps need to be taken i think that the you we were at least leadership should have actually you know made good and actually present at least in a what you want women i mean to at least pretend pretend that you are promoting

gender equality love even trying they're not even doing good p.r. or promoting their gender equality you go also another question what was the point of the exercise of thought it was new or town question ever try actually you know repairs done to have women represented there what he's made them because it will somehow but nothing was actually done other than one particular woman was congratulated for her effort she didn't even receive an award or a medal or anything like that it's one thing to speak reform it's another to actually enact them and i think that still for even a little bit you it's much much better than the rest of the group for one reason is that it has opened up its border to a lot of foreigners and that therefore changes had to be done and. you can catch up with the rest of the world i don't think it's new we know. she's a marks a milestone on the road to britain's exit from the european union m.p.'s are due to vote on amendments to the plan put forward by prime minister to resign may probably boycott explains what the next step might be. went to reason may fail to push

withdrawal deal through the house of commons she promised to come back with a plan b. and that plan b. turns out to be insisting on plan a so my focus continues to be on what is needed to secure the support of this house in favor of the brics it deal with the e.u. since then the brags that ship has run aground tonight's vote should be engines up again and determine which way. but politicians aren't voting on may's withdrawal deal they're voting on changes to the deal that have been put forward by m.p.'s once voted on specifically all depends on what this man decides to do. the job of the parliamentary speaker is meant to be neutral but the government has accused john bercow of displaying a pro remain bias the rest of us is no longer this procedural

dance if you like is really about putting pressure on the government to say ok it's time for plan b. his job is to pick which of the amendments proposed by politicians are very tight on there are well over a dozen but they fall into three broad categories one is for politicians to vote to prevent a so-called no deal bragg's it by forcing to reason may to perspire in it if a deal fails to get through parliament again i think that is written recently a real danger that. the house of commons which is a true grameen majority me steve need. to steal from the british people another possible face lift to may's deal is a brags that. per leave politicians in the p.m.'s own party could demand she go back to brussels over scrapping the controversial irish backstop the part of the deal that brags it is wary could leave northern ireland. stuck with e.u.

trading rules indefinitely this would be the most favorable outcome for to raise that may although dublin has already said the backstops non-negotiable ireland. has the same position as the european union now i think when we say the backstop as part of withdrawal agreed ok is part of a balanced package that isn't going to change and then there is blow three a potentially terminal one one that could wrestle the brags that process out of the government's hands all together politicians could force the government to pursue a softer bragg's it or even hold a second referendum the prime minister is trying to buy himself one last chance to save this deal if she doesn't take on board the fundamental changes required then she must make way for those who can depending on which changes are adopted this evening are set to be judgement night for to raise a maze so-called plan b.

it will either keep bobbing in the water or anti bragg's etampes will sink it like a stone where that leaves the brags that ship is anybody's guess the government's opposed to delaying the u.k.'s. if politicians vote to do just that constitutionally the u.k. would be entering charted water. president trump loans his way to controversial plans for bible classes in u.s. schools the details on that story after the break. we see a. good jump. in as a jew to tell terrorism. from god time to face you know you. should rename itself as base crime because they are assisting in a baby this move toward totalitarianism and the question i guess is. why why

now why it is i'm wearing its ugly head in america at this. one else seemed wrong. why don't we just don't all. get to shape our business comes out to. engage with equals betrayal. when too many find themselves worlds apart we choose to look for common ground.

welcome back well the green light for bible literacy classes in u.s. public schools and sparks contriver see across the country most like you are activists warn is a dangerous tendency president trump has already endorsed the plan numerous states introducing bible literacy classes giving students the option of studying the bible starting to make it turn back great bills to allow bible classes have been introduced in several states the proposed courses are optional on focus mainly on the historical importance of the text opponents say it violates the constitution's first amendment by lending government support to religion they also say trump's advocacy of the proposal blurs the line between church and state we got the views of john louden former republican member of the missouri senate and kevin bolling from the secular student alliance. i think one of the bottom lines and you know it comes down to is who do we want teaching religion i don't want my government

teaching religion i don't want our public institutions teaching religion i think that's a great place for or for the religious community i'm not afraid that kids are going to get bible instruction or qur'an instruction in high school and suddenly be. turned into terrible people that most of the founding fathers actually had pretty good statements supporting the separation of church and state we want our schools to teach we don't want them to preach people just want to be left alone if a school wants to have a bible class let them have a bible class i don't know why so many people are afraid of a book if you really want to get into what the historical documents of the bible are i'm not sure that there were a lot of things a lot of christians would want to for the school to be teaching the bible discusses a lot about sex and slavery and genocide and rape i don't want my school teaching my children that the whole reason that this law is necessary is that the bible is singled out for banning from schools the qur'an is is working its way into

a curriculum all across the country and there's very little controversy around that it's in but it's when the bibles broad and of a single out the bible to be banned and so that necessitated laws like the ones that are being looked at that say hey you are so missing the founding fathers wanted the bible as part of our cricket expected the bible they just assumed it it was a standard across country for the first two hundred years that's can be rather difficult for for elementary schools and high schools to do that here in los angeles and so we probably have the talent pool where we can find someone who has that background that educational background to properly be able to. my guess is just because it's more of a rural area you may not have that opportunity and then. for a junior the freedom from religion foundation was recently was start a similar thing like this because the first graders were being taught that adam and

eve slowed down the bricks the dinosaurs like a water slide if they were teaching scripture memorization they wanted kids to you know be you know sort of indoctrinated by that kind of hammering maybe i could see people being more offended by that but just to expose people to these tax. stone understand the danger. china has lashed out at u.s. government charges against tech giant while away and its chief financial officer among one joe saying it's unfair and immoral. there are strong political motivations and political manipulations behind these actions we strongly urge the u.s. to stop the unreasonable suppression of chinese companies including and treat chinese enterprises objectively and fairly one way is accused of misleading the u.s. government on the global bank about its relationships with subs are their ease in

order to conduct business with iran it's also alleged that chinese company conspired to steal intellectual property the indictment does not accuse the chinese government of criminal activity while ways chief financial officer among one joe is free on bail in vancouver canada she was arrested there in december last year at the request of the us is sparking outrage from china the united states has now made an official request for her extradition company and the chinese government deny any wrongdoing. the charges come just ahead of crucial u.s. china trade talks political analyst colleen cavell thinks the whole raul was a protectionist measure on the part of the u.s. . it is the tensions between the u.s. and china and its current talks and trade gingers that are going on by you as you you know. there's. diplomacy to

beat china down and try to. the u.s. dollar car market it's trying to go back to its all of peerless ways of saying that yes you may produce a product that is cheaper than the world we make you may produce a better product but we're going to. market access and there's the way countries. do it where they want to protect their own domestic production well thanks for joining us this hour on r.t. international and if you have something you'd like to say about any of our stories then do get in touch by following us on social media and posting your comments that we're back into stay for thirty minutes but the latest say that.

make this manufacture consent to stick to the public will. when the running closest project themselves. with the financial merry go round listen to the one percent. who ignore middle of the room sick. i mean really needs. to read the stand and hear from us and. our own. problem with a small. amount of good armor on our show for the for the hour rather than a profit out of the four or four of them medicare that.

i'm going to let them but i don't touch them then you cut them and kick and nail on what i did flew to china for a trial fault that it. won't work then i'm all in on the show a little subtle it does show the. members of the hey how you want to do it. good for its whole food place choice the i knew you had been payouts of time in syria said. the issue. of a. model for that in africa will fuck around with mr hates it for jim and then boy i hope that our family court. what politicians do you think. to put themselves on the line to get accepted or rejected. so when you want to be president. or somehow want to be rich.

but you'd like to be close but what about for three of them or can't be good. i'm interested always in the waters of my. last question. united states has always had a. new. tax on other countries. economic sanctions are are often just the beginning another thing you like to do is place some military pressure on the countries a talking about. and their past to be an effort to demonize that country and the leader of that country because. we have a responsibility for the hate. and so we need to make rules for the rest.

because without us there will be chaos. readings and salutation. the great secret not really here in washington d.c. and other government capitals around the world and the politics is about power and power my fine feathered hawk watchers is money the wise old saying goes he who has the gold makes the rules and that was never truer than in the purling corridors of

power here on capitol hill so to help you the average citizen to better understand who is really pulling the strings of your favorite us politicians from camel harris to ted cruz that chuckie schumer to mitt romney let us present to you the latest findings from the good folks at the center for responsive politics who recently we recently released to the world via their award winning website open secrets that org b two thousand and eighteen numbers on the heart and soul of washington d.c. the lobbying industry yes our friends they found out that after several straight years of modest spending twenty eight team was a battery year for lobbying firms clients spent three point forty two billion dollars on lobbying in two thousand and eighteen the largest some since the all time peak in two thousand and ten yes i am not lying to you heard me correctly three point forty two billion was spent on lobbying are supposed to public servants

. that's almost almost enough to build the great wall of donald trump as my cohort tabitha wallace mentioned to me earlier today and just who are the biggest perpetrators of the great lobbying boom of two thousand and eighteen you may as well holding a commanding top spot was the u.s. chamber of commerce at ninety five million continuing their epic run coming in at number two was the national association of realtors who dropped seventy three million politicians this year and rounding out the top three was the pharmaceutical research and manufacturers of america yes your favorite neighborhood drug dealer spent about twenty eight million on politics last year fighting to keep treated and addicted at every turn so with these three lobbying power houses and so many more are dropping record breaking oceans of ash on our far from humble civil servants just what is the average citizen to do but start watching the hawks.